Portland
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Boiler Room
I love Boiler and have been coming here
for years. The crowd is great, minus the few stragglers that are too drunk and probably shouldn't be allowed in/should be cut off at the bar. It's not rocket
science, to the people who have written that they have had issues with the staff: if you're acting like a drunk moron, you're not getting in or getting served. That's not the bouncer or the bartender's fault.
Anyway, as a long-time fan of Boiler Room, I will give you a quick rundown of what you'll find.
*Great karaoke selection (They have multiple obscure tracks by The Darkness!) and wonderful KJs who put on hilarious performances of their own from time to time.
*Strong, cheap drinks to give you the courage to sing.
*Supportive, cool crowd of good old fashioned Portland locals looking to have a drama-free good time.
*Cool staff that are wonderful to talk to, unless (I guess) if you're too drunk to count your own money and are yelling at them for no reason.
*A FUN night that you'll be talking about the next time you venture down to Old Town looking for a great time.…
Rockin' Karaoke Bar!. I love this place!! Just went in again recently and it continues to rock. Great music, nice staff, fun crowd! I don't understand some of the negative reviews because they could apply to any bar in Old Town. . . (people puking, people being cut off, drunks, and young meat hounding men.) You don't go to the "entertainment district" to be the only person in the bar! Of course it's crowded and the people watching is fantastic. When you're not dancing... The mix of amazing and talented singers and people who just give it their best is what makes it safe to get your ass up there to sing! What I really appreciate is the bartenders' ability to scan the bar and actually select who is next, rather than looking up from one spot and taking whoever steps in front of them. Classy! My only complaint about this joint is that once I'm there, I can never get myself to leave before closing. It's truly a Vortex! Love it.…
I hate people when they're not polite.
the bouncer steals money.
bouncer: you are a big fat man, pasty complexion, short beard that reminds me of the hair on my scotum. your behavior will catch up to you.
manager: I don't know why you let this piece of fetid fecal matter deface the door of your establishment. I suggest you fire him as soon as you can. he will lie if you accuse him. just fire him.
potential customers: if you see the above described bouncer, go somewhere else to have fun. bouncer boycott.…
Karaoke and Dancing, horrible..
I love horrible reviews for places I love.
This place sucks... its horrible... please.... stay away.
I love the Boiler Room. This place turns into a karaoke nightclub on the weekends, but that works for me. Last Saturday I sang two times from about 10 till 2am. Not bad, but its Saturday night, what do you expect?
The food isn't anything special, but its there. Not a whole lot of seats, if you hate to stand/dance/mingle, stay away. The staff didn't really talk to me much. Oh well, I got my drinks just fine.…
Boycott the most classless spot in Portland..
Guys, if you are going to take your girl friends out, take them someplace classy, not to Boiler Room. This place is awful. And ladies, if you are desperate and want to go somewhere with immature and
drunk guys that are only there to get smashed and hit on you or show off, this place is for you.
In fact, after two visits here, I've decided to come online and write a review, something I never do, only because this place is so classless.
First experience:
Overly crowded. Finally got to get a drink from slow bartenders and signed up to sing karaoke. I went to use the restroom and there was a girl puking in the men's room. There were a few immature guys outside mocking her, yelling mean things at her even as she was walking out. Total jerks.
I saw a group of guys standing in the middle of the bar. Some other guy tried to get through but these guys wouldn't move out of the way. Finally the guy was squeezing through and I saw one guy start pushing him, as if these guys were looking to fight.
The people here just seemed tense, impatient, and egotistical.
Overall, the service was awful, and the crowd was classless, and just one big meat fest. One guy karaoked Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody". I'm very forgiving, but this was the worst karaoke I've ever heard. No one clapped for him except me and my buddy, and I noticed the crowd was occasionally rude to the singers.
Second experience:
A couple weeks later... I had a group of friends from out of town. We were eating dinner at Kell's, and they wanted to Karaoke. Unfamiliar with Portland, the only place I knew of was Boiler Room. Maybe it was the fact that I was one of the only guys in my group of friends or that I wear glasses and don't look like some 20 year old smug frat boy, but the bouncer looked at me, after all my friends had gone in, and said, "I dunno about you". Excuse me? After my previous experiences with all those drunks, and this guy isn't going to let me in now? I told him I had just shown up, and that I'd like to go in, but needed to use the ATM. He seemed to chill out for the time, and let me inside to use it. While I was in the middle of using it, he grabbed me by the neck from behind, pulled me outside, and threw me into the little tree outside, saying "You're done here". Luckily, no one used the machine and I didn't lose any money, but he definitely should not have done that.
Totally ridiculous. Since I hadn't drank anything here and wasn't intoxicated, I thought maybe he had me mixed up. I called a friend of mine who came outside, and I tried talking to the bouncer. I just wanted to know why I was thrown out like that. He promptly got right up in my face, and started cussing and threatening me. Unfortunately we soon decided to leave, having our money taken at the door and our night spoiled.
I should have learned my lesson the first night, and shouldn't have assumed that somehow my next experience would for some reason not be as bad.
I've been to plenty of bars in cities around the northwest, and this was by far the most unfriendly and unprofessional waste of time I've seen in my life. I've never been confronted by a bouncer like that in my life. What is his job there anyways? I might go back and deal with their crap and not buy anything if my guy friends ever want to go back there, but I would never take any ladies back here.
If you take your girlfriends here, they will get hit on by sleazy guys, and you just might get thrown out instead. No wonder there are other negative reviews online. Sheesh.
Hey Portland, please boycott this place. The management should read the negative reviews showing up and deal with their mean and antisocial staff, especially that angry boar of a bouncer that was working the front door the night of 5/28/10.…
